It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over

"It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over" by Anne de Marcken is a forthcoming novel that introduces a fresh and captivating voice in literature. Published in the UK by Fitzcarraldo Editions, known for their commitment to bold and daring literature, this book offers a unique reading experience.

Throughout my reading of this book, I found myself often navigating through a plot that was intentionally enigmatic. However, the true draw of this novel lies in its exquisite prose, marked by its lyrical and powerful writing. The narrative is masterfully delivered by an unnamed protagonist who finds herself adrift in the afterlife, where a series of weird events unfold.

This is a book that undoubtedly deserves a re-reading. It is relatively short, consisting primarily of short passages that make for a quick and immersive read. Anne de Marcken demonstrates her considerable talent as a writer, leaving me eager to read more of her work in the future.

Note: I will post the review on my Instagram and other social media closer to release date.

In all honesty, my reasons for picking up this book were more superficial than substantial - 'It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over' is one of the most sublime, poetic titles I've ever come across, and any blurb which contains a favourable quote from Alexandra Kleeman is an instant object of interest for me. Having now actually read the novel (rather than simply its front and back pages), I am pleased to say that it offers a rebuttal to the old saying: Anne de Marcken's work is proof that it IS possible to judge a book by its cover; inside and out, this is a piece of tender, elegant, and sharply crafted literature.

As a fragmentary text, told in a series of loosely connected vignettes (and without a clear-cut narrative thread to follow), readers who prefer their novels to contain lucid, explicit stories may feel lost - but, particularly in relation to the text's central consideration of grief and mournning, I felt it really worked here: de Marcken's disorientating, unmoored prose seems to reflect her narrator's sense of loss; she, too, is adrift in the world, thrown off course by the absence of her loved one. And, perhaps due to the use of the crow motif (in an earlier edition of the text, an image of a black bird takes up most of the cover), the tone of the novel feels (in a favourable sense) comparable to that of Poe's work - at times, I felt like I was reading a modern twist on 'The Raven': disturbing, perturbing, and totally unforgettable.

Thank you to Fitzcarraldo Editions and NetGalley for this ARC ebook!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Fitzcarraldo for a digital ARC in exchange for a review.

This is a very dreamlike novella, taking the reader on a journey after death. There's little in the way of actual plot, but that didn't stop me enjoying the ride - the descriptive writing is beautiful and paints a very effective picture of the frequently bizarre (and slightly disturbing, in places) surroundings of the narrator. The title is perfect, summing up both the book's contents and the reading experience (not in a bad way, though - I read this over several days, but enjoyed picking it up and re-immersing myself every time). Fitzcarraldo always select unique and interesting reads for publication, and this title fits in nicely with their selection.

Published 7 March 2024. The blurb describes this as one of 'sharpest and funniest novels of recent years' but I just found it dark and quite sad. The writing is poetic and - if this makes sense - unstructured which I think represents our narrator as she searches for meaning. Our narrator is in limbo; she is not alive but she is not dead. In old fashioned horror terms I suppose you could describe her as a zombie, but that term has so many connotations that do not fit here. She is losing body parts, she is losing some memories but she still retains fragments of memories relating to love, relating to the 'you' that she talks of and seems to be looking for. Within her, she has bound a dead crow that she talks to as she travels looking for meaning. In her alive but not dead state she observes everything around her and tries to accept this new state but the loss of this 'you' is something that she finds painful as she remembers this love even though she can no longer her own name. A book that makes you question life and death.

Huge thanks to Fitzcarraldo & Netgally for allowing me to read this eArc pre publication for my honest review.

This feels like a unique blend of Seven Moons Of Mali's 'undead' soul caught between worlds & Camilla Grudova's writing raw, graphic darkness, mixed with deeper religious references & a lyrical, rhythmic writing style.

Let your mind go, follow the undead mind & appreciate what this author has achieved. Totally understand why this is another Fitzcarraldo's fantastic publication.

I read & underlined paragraphs several times...

'Did you ever do something you never told anyone? Something shameful. Or something perfect...So you decided you would keep it in, to protect yourself. One way or another...You decided this is the one thing I will die with. I won't be alone because I will have this.'

'I notice that I am having an idea instead of hearing. And when I notice the idea, I instantly stop having it. Like when you are not deeply asleep and you become less deeply asleep because of a click in your brain and then you were suddenly aware that you were more deeply asleep than you knew but also aware that even now you not yet exactly awake.'

Appreciated the raw grief that poured through the pages, which provided an opportunity to pause & reflect on life & the deep traumatic impact of loss.

Uploaded review to Goodreads, Storygraph, Instagram & Amazon.

'It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over' is one of the most unique books I've read in a while, truly original and brilliantly weird. It opens in some kind of land of the dead (or undead), with our protagonist revealing that her arm has fallen off. It's an opening that immediately establishes the very deadpan humour that the novel does so well - lines like "since he lost his penis he's Mr Wisdom" had me instantly falling in love with de Marcken's witty prose. And then, just as you think you have a handle on what kind of book this will be, it becomes so much more than just witty knob jokes to be an incredibly moving portrayal of loss and grief. I'm no keen highlighter, but this had me constantly noting passages to come back to.

This won't be for everyone. I'm rarely so sure that a novel will be a cult classic, but that's very much a cult classic and not a universally agreed classic. It's weird, it's not massively plotty, and it's not perfect - but it's the kind of novel that I'll want to revisit and that I know is going to REALLY land with a lot of people. If you're in the market for 'The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida' crossed with Yorgos Lanthimos' 'The Lobster', I think you'll find a lot to like here.

"Or maybe, I say to the crow or myself, that the end, the end you can only see after it is too late, maybe the end is what makes a beginning what it is. What else is a beginning but the end of something else? The crow says nothing."

This was a breath of fresh air, an imaginative and evocative take on life after death in an oddly visceral and affecting short story about what it means to be alive.

It’s full of lyrical, poetic and deeply vivid prose that’s told like a train of thought, on tangents and observing the rich surroundings with curiosity as our narrator shares their thoughts with us in somehow rambling and coherent ways at the same time - there’s a lot of heavy text with no break but it felt like I was being pulled along with her with a quick, natural flow and the single-string storytelling style created a real sense of isolation but also intimacy with the narrator.

It was entirely dreamlike, feverish in the most delightful way and had that sense of something just being slightly wrong, an eeriness that was unshakeable as the most absurd and disturbing things happen but don’t feel absurd at the time. The strange purgatory we explore is unearthly, chilling but confusingly familiar, with striking scenes and a terrible kind of beauty — and we may never truly know if this really is a zombie uprising, a hell, or post-apocalypse, or a dream but despite the lack of solid answers when I reached that last page I felt some sense of connection, of warmth and happiness at my place in the world, knowing I may never fully understand it.

If you prefer your zombie stories to be all blood and guts with a clear linear narrative, this might not be for you. But if you’re looking for something new and exciting, you need to read this.

Review CW: Minor references to body horror in the paragraph starting with “at multiple points”, skip if this is a no-go for you. This is also your reminder to always check CWs, I have added broad TW/CWs to my StoryGraph review.

"It Lasts Forever, and Then It’s Over" is a poetic, impactful, and very strange little book about mortality, love, loss, grief, and everything in between. These themes are explored in incredibly abstract, visceral, and at times, skin-crawling narratives. Yet, somehow, through all of that, Anne manages to retain a profound through line of coherence and depth.

I made the mistake, or wise decision depending on how you look at it, of starting this one when I couldn’t sleep late one night... which definitely added to it feeling like a fever dream because I’m still fairly sure I dreamt this book.

Did I mention how poetically written it is…!? I can guarantee that once I get my hands on a physical copy it will end up just being one long 132-page underlined quote. Anne is an exquisite writer and I cannot wait for what the future may hold.

Our story traces the protagonist's fragmented journey through the afterlife, where she encounters both familiar and unfamiliar acquaintances, navigates through unsettling situations, reflects on living memories, and contemplates profound existential questions.

I went into this one knowing almost nothing, and I would highly recommend you do the same, only if it is safe for you to do so, of course. I ended up re-reading this one immediately after finishing it and picked up on so much more the second time round! I will be reading this one again once I have my hands on a final copy.

At multiple points, I found myself asking questions I never thought I would, thoughts like, “surely it’d decompose in your chest even if you yourself are not decomposing?” and “why couldn’t you just stitch it back on if you were that desperate to keep it with you?”. Contrastingly, other thoughts included: “that’s so true, everything comes from death, we can’t have new life without death” and “hmm, true…what is the time between an end and beginning…?” If these thoughts, and the fact that they were only some of those that came to me while reading this 132-page book, don’t intrigue you, I don’t know what will…

I loved this one so much more than I expected to, especially upon reading it a second time and seeing the broader picture clearer. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

This is definitely not a book for everyone, but if you are at all intrigued and are one to usually enjoy weird but reflective books (with a touch of gore), I’d recommend you give it a go!

Thanks to NetGalley and Fitzcarraldo Editions for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.